Instant messaging applications such as Microsoft's Windows Messenger™ can provide users a way to track the availability of others to communicate. Windows Messenger™ can for example indicate that a targeted party is online, away from his/her computer, or offline. Presence and location systems can be used in similar applications to provide the whereabouts of an individual, the availability of the individual to communicate, an indication of the state of use of a communication device of the individual, and so on.